There have been plenty of big moments in the digital revolution since the turn of the century.

So, it may have come as a bit of a surprise when a representative from Google, perhaps the largest player in the game, told the crowd at the New Jersey Digital Marketing Conference sponsored by SEMGeeks that their future success will be based on the smallest moments.

Connecting with consumers (and potential consumers) in small ways can occur at any time, Google account strategist Carmin Haynes said to an overflow crowd at Beach Haus Brewery in Belmar earlier this month.

A businesses success (or failure) will be based on that ability to connect in the smallest everyday moments, Haynes said.

“We are in the right place at the right time,” she said. “One of the most exciting things about the digital marketing space is that everybody has an extremely sophisticated machine robot in their pocket: the cell phone.”

That cell phone, she said, is what brings these tiny moments.

Consumers do not go online, Haynes said, they live online.

With that, she showed the audience pictures of everyday consumers using their phone to help bake a cake, learn how to tie a bow tie and hail a car service.

“What does this mean for businesses?” Haynes asked. “Our biggest opportunities are in these tiny moments. When we’re thinking about moments that we each take part in everyday as users of cell phones, (we have to think about) how businesses can capitalize on that.

“Tying a bow tie, baking a cake, ordering an Uber — all of these tiny moments are where businesses should be.

“If you’re a car-driving service, you want to compete. If you are a bakery, you want to show up when this woman is looking for a recipe. If you’re a YouTube user and you’re all about wanting to teach, you want to be able to teach this woman how to tie a bow tie in the moment that they need you.”

Haynes said the average person looks at his or her phone 150 times a day. Each time, she said, is a marketing opportunity.

These moments, however, are fleeting, she said. And failing to capture them properly can kill your brand.

“Showing up just gets you there, but that’s not enough,” Haynes said. “You want to show up, that’s step one, but what happens after you actually show up online on a mobile device?

“First, 51 percent of smartphone users have discovered a new company or new product when they connect on search. This is an opportunity for you to know that your business can compete with those giants out there if you just show up.

“What about my competitors? If you know that one of three users have purchased from a company other than the brand they were looking for, that’s really important. If I’m looking for black, shiny shoes, that’s all I want. I don’t care if they come from Nordstrom or JC Penney. This is how your users and your clients are thinking when they are trying to find exactly what it is they want.”

Speed, however, is more important than anything, she said.

“Forty percent of customers will abandon the site if it takes more than three seconds to load,” she said. “Three seconds is a short amount of time, but when you’re going on the app and you have to wait three seconds, it’s like forever when you’re just trying to get relevant information.”

It gets worse, she said.

“Twenty-nine percent of smartphone users will immediately switch to another site if you’re too slow,” she said. “And one in five dissatisfied users will never come back. You’re talking about marketing to people, but it may not work because they already know if they see your ad that your site stinks.”

Being there — and being fast — are great, Haynes said. But that still is not enough. Brands need to have useful information. And to stand for something more than just their product, she said.

“Being there drives brand awareness; we have data to back it up,” Haynes said. “But how are we going to be useful for our clients and our users who are looking for us.

“Seventy-three percent of consumers say they want to get regular, useful information and this is most important when selecting a brand. This goes back to building your brand. Who are you?

“I was working with a brand the other day, where their brand and their message are totally separate. They want to be about the goodness of giving back — and that’s something that every brand can tap into.

“If you were to give out lots of information about giving back, you may capture users that you may not have been able to capture before, and then your brand is a part of that, which is nice.”

Of course, Haynes said, you need to be useful.

“Fifty-one percent of smartphone users have bought from a brand other than the intended one because they thought the information was useful,” she said. “So, make sure your information is relevant.

“And 61 percent of smartphone users are likely to buy from companies that customize their information on mobile per their location. It’s those near-me purchases, ‘How do I find a Starbucks near me?’ “

•••

Hayes’ insights were noteworthy, even to an audience that included many who worked in the space.

But, she quickly pointed out, this is marketing for today.

The future is virtual reality. And, truth be told, she said, it already may be here. And since she works for Google, Hayes had the data to prove it.

In 2014, there were just 200,000 active virtual reality users. That number jumped to 6.7 million in 2015 and to 43 million in 2016.

This year, Google estimates there will be 90 million active virtual reality users. In 2018, Google is predicting the number to jump to 171 million.

“We have seen exponential growth in people, business, users that are interested in virtual reality,” she said. “I would assume you want to be a part of it.”

The catch, is figuring out what part.

How VR is produced and marketed is changing rapidly. Not just in presentation (in products such as Google cardboard), but in concept (virtual reality vs. augmented reality vs. mixed reality), Hayes said.

Its potential, she said, is obvious, talking about how consumers can take a trip to a shopping mall and enter stores where they seemingly can “touch and feel the bags they want to purchase.”

“This is an investment in your future in order to take advantage of those 171 billion users who were searching for VR,” she said.

“You should be really looking into this when you are doing your five- and 10-year plans. You need to start thinking about how (you) can include VR in the experiences that (you’re) selling and what (you) are doing so you can be ahead of the pack. “